Chapter 11

"When did you become so pathetic?" Draco sighed. He was enjoying this quite a lot. They were sitting in her living room, he on the couch and she in her favorite reading chair. Crookshanks had betrayed her by jumping onto the couch that Malfoy was sitting on and curling up next to him.

Good thing that there would be cat hair all over his robes.

"I'm not pathetic, you arse! I've just been having ordinary problems!" Hermione knew that she indeed sounded weak and pathetic but that didn't stop her from speaking up to defend herself.

Malfoy laughed, "Ordinary? Drinking your problems away is not ordinary, you silly little witch."

"Oh, what do you know!"

Draco could hear the grinding of her teeth as she snarled at him. She was going to attack him. He could feel the buzz in the air.

"I know much about the subject. I was in the same position not too long ago. Hell, I may even still be there," was the retort of the blond man.

Hermione lifted her eyebrow and her tone darkened. He wanted to snog her senseless.

"Oh, really? You drink away the fact that you were brutally tortured in the Malfoy family home? You drink away the thoughts of pillaging for food and staying strong for Scarhead and Weasel? What about hiding from deatheaters who want to kill you just because you're Harry Potter's muggleborn best friend, hmm?"

She had stood up and was glaring down at Malfoy whose face had increasingly contorted into a sneer.

"No. I drank away the fact that I could've been killed when I was sixteen for not murdering Albus Dumbledore. I drank away the fact that I had become a spy for the Order of the Phoenix to keep your bloody arses alive alongside Snape. Do you know how difficult it was to keep certain memories hidden in my head, when I was so close to the Dark Lord? I drank away the fact that my father was killed by deatheaters because he no longer cared for war. That is why I drank, Dear Granger. I drink these days, because I know that there is still a deatheater lurking in the shadows to ensure my demise…which I only recently stopped wishing for, myself," he spoke calmly as his face hardened with each word.

Hermione sighed loudly before flopping down on the couch beside him and incidentally on Crookshanks. The cat let out a great shriek, not unlike an owl's, and hopped off of the couch in anger.

"I'm sorry. I just...I just don't know what to do anymore," the witch admitted.

"Obviously," Draco smirked. He looked over at her and grinned.

"What?"

"Did you know that when you get upset, your magic causes your hair to move?" He loved it.

"Oh, shut up. Why are you still here, anyway?"

"Because you don't want me to leave," was the response.

"What? Of course I do." Hermione was confused. This man was definitely not in the right state of mind.

Draco smirked deeply which caused the witch to finally notice that he was twirling a wand in his hand. And it wasn't his.

"Malfoy, hand me my wand," Hermione gritted out with a frown.

"No. I cannot leave because you wouldn't want me to go with your wand. Grab your cloak. We're going to Potter's office."

Hermione clenched her fists and would have punched him but felt that it would be too harsh. Hoping to catch him off guard, she lunged across the couch at him but ended up pushing them both onto the carpeted floor.

And so, there she was, lying on top of him. The static in the air was charged. Hermione's hands were beneath her body between them. She tried lifting up but found that she couldn't move.

She couldn't lift herself up due to Malfoy's own arms circling her waist, her wand still in his hand.

"Granger…why is it that you are always knocking me down?" Draco questioned, his voice nearly a whisper. She knew that he was referring to the incident in the bookstore that had caused their reunion. It felt like ages ago.

She couldn't respond right away. This feeling…the feeling of them being so close was new, forbidden, different, and…nice. It was causing her always-busy mind to be in an even more chaotic state.

Her eyes were initially on his but after he had spoken her focus had moved to his lips and how close they were. Hermione blinked her eyes rapidly to rid herself of such offending thoughts. It didn't work.

"You should really stop squirming…seriously," Malfoy muttered. His eyebrows were now furrowed in a frown.

"What are you on abo-? Oh."

Draco smirked before removing his arms from around her. Flushed, Hermione still did not move. All she could think to do was…well…think.

"I'm going to be honest with you, Dear Granger. If you don't get up, then I won't be held responsible for my actions."

He was warm; a cozy warmth that she did not want to abandon. She found herself shakily pulling her arms from beneath her and splaying her hands onto his chest. Hermione stared in amazement at her ten fingers before moving her eyes back up to his grey ones.

Tentatively, her left hand moved up to his jawline. She allowed her knuckles to graze said jawline. She was exploring. She had never once felt this close to an individual and it made her curious.

Draco was astonished at the witch's behavior. His thoughts had originally gone to think that she was drunk but he'd been with her all morning…aside from her shower-time but he doubted that she'd had any alcoholic beverages stashed in her bathroom.

He felt the difference in the air that was caused by the mingling of their magic. It was strange and dangerous but…he liked it. He had already admitted to himself that he found her attractively beautiful and her resting atop of him like so wasn't really helping with his resolve.

And then she had to caress his face like this. Blaise was right. 'Counseling' Granger wasn't the only reason that he wanted to see her.

"I wonder…" he heard the beautiful witch whisper before she lowered her head another centimeter.

Draco dropped her wand and found his own hands brushing up her sides, over her arms, and to her face. He gently brushed a few of her wild curls away so that he could see her honey-colored eyes more clearly.

"I warned you," he whispered, before he pushed his lips against hers. The kiss was short and just a simple peck because he didn't quite know what to do in this situation, as she had stiffened the moment his lips made contact.

Hermione's eyes widened in bewilderment at what had just happened. Truth be told, she wasn't astonished that he'd kissed her. She was shocked and a tad annoyed that the kiss was such a…tease. This was a very uncharacteristic thought for her to have, but she didn't care.

"You've got to do better than that, Malfoy," she whispered against his lips before closing her eyes and initiating a kiss of her own. This time, Draco didn't hesitate to kiss her with such fervor that he just could not get enough of her.

This kiss of pure passion was bordering on being dangerous. Granger's hands were in his hair, mussing it up even more as his hands had moved back to her sides, his thumbs creeping under the hem of her blouse.

Neither of the two had ever felt such a connection before. Draco knew that if he didn't stop their actions, she'd be upset, he told himself. He slowly turned his head to end the kiss but this only excited Granger more. She started at his neck which caused him to mentally swear. This was agonizing. He gently pushed her away. Their breathing was labored.

Hermione slowly lifted herself off of him and leaned against her sofa but not before she snatched her wand off of the floor. She felt exhilarated and powerful over what had just happened for reasons unbeknownst to her. A small smile appeared on her face.

Draco stood up and nervously ran a hand through his hair. This infatuation for Granger had taken on another route and he needed air.

"Good. Now I don't have to drag you with me to Potter's office. Stay away from alcohol, Granger. I'll see you later." With that, Draco grabbed his cloak off of the arm of the couch and disapparated.

Hermione felt her heart drop a little when there was no 'dear' present in front of her surname.

"You're an idiot!" Blaise Zabini exclaimed. His feet were crossed and propped on his desk.

"What are you talking about? I've only just stepped into the room," Draco stated carefully. There was no such thing as keeping secrets around Blaise.

"The look on your face tells me that you've done something idiotic, Draco. The fact that you're walking into my office with your hair uncombed and your robe all wrinkled, only proves to be more evidence toward your idiocy. What did you do?"

"I can't get that witch out of my head, Zabini. At first, I just thought that it had to do with seeking redemption from the war. But now…" Draco narrowed his eyes and sloppily dropped himself into Blaise's guest chair.

"What's going on, Draco?" asked Blaise in a worried tone, "You haven't had that look on your face in such a long time. Don't revert."

"Granger's starting to make me think things that I've never really thought about before."

"What things?"

"Like…wanting to be around her at every moment, waking or not. It's all very strange."

Blaise grinned and shook his head.

"You're falling in love with Hermione Granger, idiot."

"That is preposterous. I can't be in love with anyone." Thinking back to the kiss, he knew differently.

"I can see it on your face, Draco Malfoy. Why don't you want to be in love with her? Now that is a more pressing question. You're not still on that blood purity bullshite are you?"

"Of course not. I'm just not willing to be in love with someone who won't return my affections, as trivial as they may be," said the blond man stubbornly.

"How do you know that Granger won't feel the same way?"

"Obvious reasons. I'm Draco Malfoy, for one. The only women who have even bothered with me were daughters of the pureblood elite who only want me for my wealth and name. The cheapness of them all. Hermione Granger, I wouldn't dare attempt to ruin her good name with the likes of my tainted life."

Blaise frowned at his best friend's stupidity.

"I suppose that as you haven't realized it yet, Draco, I must tell you. You've already done so, nitwit. She's as screwed up as you are. You're just afraid of taking a chance because that would shake the foundations that you've been brought up on. Such a risk would tear down the infrastructure of order and meticulous planning in your head. I dare say that you are afraid that you will start to sink again if she turns you down."

Blaise blinked as he realized the truth of his statements that were confirmed by the look in his friend's eyes.

"Draco, there's no reason to fear anything. Just go for it. From the looks of things, you already did…and it doesn't seem to me like there's anything to be worried about," Blaise smirked.

Draco was confused at those last words, which the perceptive Blaise noticed.

Zabini reached his hand up and gestured to the left side of his own neck. At once Draco stood up and turned to the mirror that Blaise had on the wall. The man was quite vain.

There on Draco's neck was a red mark, put there by the one and only, Hermione Granger.

Apologies for such a late update. I actually took summer classes so that I could graduate. I FINALLY have my Associates of Applied Arts in Fine Arts. Now more school so that I can get my Bachelor's in Art History.

Please REVIEW to let me know how you like this chapter. I'd love it if I got a review per author alert/favorite, hmmm? I'll most likely update sooner if i get more feedback.

It's one of my faves by far.